Data blocking, the antithesis to health IT interoperability, is emerging as a major impediment to the improvement of EHR use. Data blocking is defined by the ONC as preventing the sharing of health information intentionally, knowingly, or with a lack of reasonable justification for blocking the information. Data blocking is a clear hurdle in the way of full interoperability because it is intentional, and therefore can be preventable. This not only bars the free exchange of information, but also the benefits that go with it - care coordination, patient engagement, and team-based care.

This article presents a perspective on an approach to data sharing in scientific publications. The essence of the approach is that data can be embedded in a human-readable and machine-addressable way within the traditional publishing environment. This is shown by examples for both computational and experimental data. A need for new authoring tools to facilitate data sharing has been articulated, and the tools that have been developed for this purpose are also discussed. With these tools, data generation, analysis, and manuscript preparation can be deeply integrated, resulting in easier and better data sharing in scientific publications.

In current age of knowledge abundance, the scholarly community is turning its attention to the use of social media channels and other online platforms. Scholars have been increasingly integrating these tools into their everyday work, creating enormous potential to capture the digital traces of their research. Not surprisingly, then, in recent years academics have shown a growing interest in non-traditional ways of evaluating their scholarly 'impact'. The altmetrics, short for alternative metrics, allow researchers to gauge the impact and reach of their research in the social web beyond traditional citation counting.

Courts in the United States process huge quantities of scientific information. Every day, they must determine the validity of expertise ranging from acoustics to zoology, in matters ranging from civil slip-and-fall cases to criminal prosecutions that may result in prison sentences or even execution. In federal courts and in virtually all states, judges are expected to be 'gatekeepers,' responsible for assessing the validity of the scientific or technical expert testimony offered by the parties. Judges are expected to distinguish the scientific wheat from the pseudoscientific chaff. Yet most judges do not have the ability to fulfill this responsibility adequately.

Researchers in India are increasingly authoring articles published in 'high-quality scientific publications' despite continued stagnation in Indian government spending for research, according to a new Nature Index analytics report. In 2014, India ranked 13th globally in the number of papers published in top journals, with a 'weighted fractional count' of 921.8 articles, up nearly 8 percent from 2012. Noting that India has a 'historic love affair with chemistry', the report says half of India's index rating comes from chemistry papers.